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Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst answers questions from the news media after he spoke at the American Eurocopter plant in Grand Prairie on Wednesday.

GRAND PRAIRIE — U.S. Senate candidate David Dewhurst touted on Wednesday his credentials as a fiscal conservative and longtime businessman, telling a few hundred people gathered for a new helicopter demonstration that he “gets” the government’s role in job creation.

“Government doesn’t create jobs,” Dewhurst said at American Eurocopter, which was unveiling its new X3 hybrid helicopter. “We can help create the business climate, but you all create the jobs.”

Dewhurst, who faces former state solicitor general Ted Cruz in the July 31 GOP runoff, gave a brief speech that more reflected his role as lieutenant governor than as a candidate in the midst of a heated battle to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.

But there were nonetheless undertones of the campaign.

That was particularly evident when Dewhurst described his part in helping shape the Texas economy. He listed off tax cuts he helped pass and noted how “people are moving to Texas, not because of the weather in August, but because of the economy and jobs you are creating.”

“It’s doing the right thing,” said Dewhurst, a rancher and oil and natural gas businessman who’s been a statewide elected official for 14 years. “It’s keeping our spending low. It’s keeping our taxes low.”

Dewhurst — who can, at times, be bit stiff in public — also flashed some banter and humor. He joked with one of Eurocopter’s French executives that “any further operations you want to locate in Texas, just call me.” And he offered a lighthearted explanation for the state’s strong economy.

“The truth is we have more Texans in Texas than any other state,” he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

Politics aside, Dewhurst, a former Air Force officer, marveled at the new X3 helicopter, commenting on how it could be key to future search-and-rescue missions in Texas and across the country. He also made sure to stay and watch the demonstration flight and to meet the chopper’s pilots.

“After this election, I may want to take some helicopter lessons,” he said with a grin.